Stories about Belarus from April, 2006
Ukraine, Belarus: Interview With Translator of “Voices of Chernobyl”
Languor Management links to Maud Newton's short email interview with Keith Gessen, English translator of Svetlana's Alexievich's Voices of Chernobyl, which won this year's National Book Critics Circle award for nonfiction.”
Belarus: No BBC in Belarusian
br23 blog reports that there are no plans to launch BBC Service in Belarusian because Douglas Alexander, British minister, thinks the coverage of Belarusian affairs in Russian and Ukrainian is sufficient.
Belarus: Newspaper Faces Shutdown
Nasha Niva – “the last independent paper” – is about to be shut down, according to br23 blog and TOL's Belarus Blog. “Department of ideology wants to close it down because the editor-in-chief… was in jail for 10 days. That’s the reason they give for wanting to close their offices....
Belarus & Russia: Traffic Police Stories
Due to certain unprofessionalism and corruption in their ranks, traffic police feature prominently in jokes and contemporary urban folklore of the former Soviet states. Below are three actual stories and reactions to them, posted in LiveJournal this month (translated from Russian). *** Minsk, Belarus (April 6, 2006) – This story...
Belarus: Last Week's Review
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the release of opposition politician Mikhail Marynich. Andrei Khrapavitski reports on protesters in Minsk demanding the release of the former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin. br23 blog links to pictures and posts a report from a flash mob that gathered in Prague to protest awarding “second-rate...
Africa: European Double Standards on Corruption
While the EU prepares to impose sanctions on Bielorussian authorities who allegedly committed election fraud, says (FR) Generation Consciente, “numerous African dictators [who commit election fraud…] consistently visit Europe without difficulty while freely managing their personal affairs[…].”
Belarus: Sanctions Against Lukashenko
Andrei Khrapavitski does not consider the EU's sanctions against Lukashenko's regime sufficient: “Had Belarus possessed any valuable natural resources, maybe our leader would’ve been excused and welcomed in Brussels. I don’t know. But with all due respect, the current sanctions do not offer any leverage to democratization of Belarus. They...
Belarus: Opposition Prepares For April 26
Andrei Khrapavitski reports on the Belarusian opposition's preparations for the rally on the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl catastrophe, April 26.
Another Belarus
A typical Vileika backyard – by Yevgenia Mantsevich (LJ user litota_) LJ user litota_, currently of Minsk, paid a visit to her native Vileika last weekend and posted photos from a three-hour walk she took while there (BEL). Somebody's colorful rugs hung out to dry in one of the backyards...
Belarus: Lukashenko's Health
TOL's Belarus Blog shares rumors of Aleksandr Lukashenko's poor health reported in the German Focus Magazine.
Belarus: “Almost an Open Letter to Hollywood Producers”
Andrei Khrapavitski wonders why there hasn't appeared a single Hollywood movie about Belarus, “the baffling country between Russia and Poland.”
Belarus: Lukashenko's Inauguration
TOL's Belarus Blog has a short version of Aleksandr Lukashenko's inauguration; Tobias Ljungvall provides a detailed account. Tobias also has a suggestion for the EU's neighbors: “I also hope the EU will ask other countries, notably Ukraine and some other Black Sea states as well as Turkey where the regime...
Belarus: Flash-Mobbing in Minsk
White Boats – by Andrei Hrachou On April 4, a small group of young people gathered at the Svisloch River embankment in Minsk, folded origami paper boats, let them out into the water, and left. Most boats were white, but a few were painted the colors of the banned Belarusian...
Belarus: Lukashenko Returns
Andrei Khrapavitski reports on president Aleksandr Lukashenko's return from the undisclosed location he has been at since March 20.
Belarus: Election Observer Intimidated Into Not Reporting Fraud
Tobias Ljungvall summarizes the events of the past week in Belarus and reports on how intimidation was used against a foreign election observer: “It happened on 19 March late at night in a territorial election commission, i.e. the mid-level vote tabulation instance. A woman from another country, serving as an...
Belarus: Union With Russia Day
TOL's Belarus Blog posts a note on the meaning of April 2 – the “Day of Belarus-Russia Unity – for Belarus and its people.
Belarus: Political Jokes
Post-Soviet bloggers continue a good old Soviet tradition of coping with reality and expressing dissent through political jokes (politicheskiye anekdoty) – seemingly innocent stuff that's not really fit to print in a repressive society and is unlikely to make it to state-owned TV in a country like Belarus. Below are...
